Coppering the Ship Model Hull

[Pete Jaquith]

Various techniques including copper paint, individual copper plates, photo etched plates, and self adhesive copper tape have been used by ship modelers to simulate the copper sheathing used for under water hull protection on both naval and merchant ships from the late 1700’s thru the late 1800’s. The following notes describe the technique selected for my Topsail Schooner "Eagle" of 1847 build.

 

Test Pieces – Test pieces were prepared to evaluate the installation process and appearance of various methods including individual plates, individual plates cut from self adhesive tape, strips of copper tape, and both plain and embossed plates. The selected approach was individual plates cut from self adhesive copper tape with embossed nail heads on the exposed plate edges only.

 

Copper Material – The material used for copper sheathing was .0015” x ¼” wide self adhesive copper tape purchased from Blue Jacket Ship Crafters.

Plate Fabrication – The individual copper plates were cut from self adhesive copper tape using a Carl Rotary Trimmer from Staples Office Supply. The plates were ¼” x ¾” (16” x 48” full size at 1:64 scale). The individual plates were then embossed from the back side using a fine pounce wheel.

 

Hull Preparation – After filling and sanding any minor dings, holes, etc. on the lower hull and completion of topside painting (acrylic paints); the topside and bare lower hull were sealed with three coats of Minwax Wipe-On-Poly (oil based wiping varnish). A hard smooth surface is necessary for tape adhesion, and a smooth surface is important as any defects will show through the thin copper foil.

 

Hull Layout – With the model resting in its building cradle, the waterline was laid out using a surface gauge. The gore line was then located using the copper sheathing layout taken from a similar size merchant hull plans (whaler "Kate Cory"). The plate layout consists of upper and lower gore strakes with no dressing belt. The individual copper plate strakes were laid out using a tick strip working up from the keel. The water line, gore line, and individual plate strakes were then marked on the model hull using narrow strips of blue masking tape. Note that properly locating the waterline and gore line are critical as I have seen models where they dip down badly in the stern area.

 

Plate Installation – Individual copper plates were applied using the masking tape strips as a guide and working from the keel up and the stern post forward. The plates were overlapped approximately 1/32” and butts were staggered like brick work. A fair amount of fitting was required in the upper stern area due to the hull shape, and the upper corners of the plates were cut off for those plates that crossed the gore line and waterline. After installation, all copper foil plates were rubbed down with a soft rag.

 

Protective Finish – After installation, I cleaned the copper plates with denatured alcohol and applied three coats of Minwax Wipe-On-Poly to seal and protect the copper surface. After approximately 10 months, the copper sheathing is beginning to show some tarnish under the varnish finish. On future builds, I may just choose to clean the copper plates and let them tarnish naturally.

 

While the above technique is only an approximation of full size practice as the nail pattern would have covered the complete plate and would hardly be visible at this scale, I was pleased with the overall effect. As noted; critical items in the application include having a smooth hard surface, layout of the waterline/gore line, and holding the plate strakes straight.

 

Brigantine "Newsboy" 1854 Installation – Following completion of the Topsail Schooner "Eagle", my next ship model was the Brigantine "Newsboy" of 1854 (also in 1:64 scale). The copper sheathing installation on "Newsboy" was similar to "Eagle" with the following exceptions:

1. Due to her finer hull lines, I chose to model the copper sheathing layout after the clipper ship "Flying Fish" of 1851. The copper sheathing layout consisted of an upper and lower gore with a single dressing strake at the water line.

2. The copper plate fabrication and installation was similar to "Eagle". Based on the recommendation of friends at the USS Constitution Model Shipwrights Guild, I elected not to emboss the copper plates with simulated nails. I was pleased with the result, and plan to follow this practice on future models of American Merchant Sail from the mid 1800’s.

 

The following pictures illustrate copper sheathing installation on the Maine Topsail Schooner "Eagle" 1847 and Brigantine "Newsboy" of 1854.

 

Pete Jaquith

Shipbuilder

Edited May 18, 2014 by Pete Jaquith

[_SalD_]

Pete, very nice work.  I am currently in the process of coppering the hull of my first ship so I can better appreciate the amount of work and planning that goes into it.  great job.

[Pete Jaquith]

Sal,

 

Once you have the copper sheathing designed, copper plating actually goes quite quickly. If you are satisfied with copper tape, the above process works well for me. I would anticipate that "Phantom" would have a similar layout to "Newsboy" but adjust your plate size for the scale.

 

Pete Jaquith

Shipbuilder

Edited May 19, 2014 by Pete Jaquith

[S Paridelle]

Looks very nice Pete. I am shortly going to start coppering a 1:72 kit of HMS Victory. The  makers of the kit do not suggest using gore lines, but the result is that their copper plates go all over the place if one looks at their photos of their build. I want to use gore lines but do not have a clear idea of how to establish where they should be. Can you give any clues?

[Pete Jaquith]

I have not researched pre 1800 practice, but many ship models of that period do not have gore lines. Possible other MSW Members with experience in that time period could assist.

 

Regards.

Pete Jaquith

Shipbuilder

[druxey]

Pete is correct: in the 18th century the copper strakes started at the keel and were laid parallel to it. This results in the highest strakes running out at an angle fore and aft at the waterline. On way the sharp ends were dealt with was with a wood batten nailed along the waterline overlapping the edges of the copper. Another, probably later, way was to run the top two strakes of copper along the waterline. 

 

See the photos of a coppered model of Bellona on the National Maritime Museum's 'Collections' site that shows the earlier method.

[S Paridelle]

Thank you druxey. This appears to be the method that the kit-makers are proposing, so I will go along with it. I found the photos of Bellona.

Actually trying to research gore lines online is rather frustrating. So this is very helpful!

[latestarter]

Where is the best place to start coppering? Obviously on the hull but where stern, stem or centre. I started coppering Pickle in the centre and ran out with some very awkward cuts at stem and stern.

[latestarter]

Am I missing something here? Was my question really so stupid that it does not deserve an answer?

[bhermann]

 

Plate Installation – Individual copper plates were applied using the masking tape strips as a guide and working from the keel up and the stern post forward. The plates were overlapped approximately 1/32” and butts were staggered like brick work. A fair amount of fitting was required in the upper stern area due to the hull shape, and the upper corners of the plates were cut off for those plates that crossed the gore line and waterline. After installation, all copper foil plates were rubbed down with a soft rag.

 

 

 

Latestarter

 

No such thing as a stupid question.  Sometimes when a new question is asked inside a topic that was already started, it is easier to miss.  In any case, here is what Pete did - check the first post in the topic for a pretty complete description of his process.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bob

[Pete Jaquith]

Latestarter,

 

Bob has summarized the process I have used.  Working from the stern post forward and keel up is based on the copper plate overlap practice utilized in North America during the mid 1800's.  I recall seeing material that some naval ships in the late 1700's were coppered from the waterline down, and this would change the plate layout and installation sequence.  As Bob has noted, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

 

Regards,

Pete

Edited June 5, 2014 by Pete Jaquith

[latestarter]

Thank you very much, now I do feel stupid, the answer was there all along, sorry! I can only plead the over eagerness of a complete novice combined with advancing years

[clearway]

Nice job there,i used the copper tape method for my cutty sark (5mm wide x 15mm length) and ran the top two "runs" parallel to the water line- took something like 3000 tiles to do all the hull- it is the billings 1/75 version. Vowed i would never do it again, but here i am having just ordered 60 metres of tape for my Victory!

Keith

[jablackwell]

All,

I have been watching this thread with great care, as I am just starting out on the coppering of my kit build of the Kate Cory. I am now two rows into the copper plating process which is going smoothly.  I do have a question though, and wondering if anyone here might throw out some suggestions for me:

 

Post-coppering, the metal will just be hanging out there on the model, unprotected. I imagine that people have been coating their copper with something or another.... the question is what?    I would also imagine that the coating would depend on what the craftsman is looking to accomplish for a finished product appearance, yes? Some might want the copper looking brand spanking new and shiny, while others would want a more weathered appearance. 

 

What coatings should be used to protect and keep copper shiny and new looking?

What would be the best coating for a weathered look, and also protection?

 

Thanks,

~john

[catopower]

Hi John,

 

On my last couple coppered models, after completing the copper sheathing, I sprayed the hull with flat lacquer. It takes away that overly shiny look to the new model and it keeps off dirt and grime and makes it possible to handle the model without leaving permanent fingerprints as oils in the skin can't reach and react with the copper surface.

 

In my experience, no matter what you do, the copper will not stay new looking no matter what you do. It will always slowly dull and tarnish, but I think the "aged" copper looks much better after 2 or 3 years – much more natural.

 

Clare

[jablackwell]

Thank you, Clare. Much appreciated. I suspected that the copper would always tarnish with time, no matter what is done. 

~john

[townpiper]

 

Nice job there,i used the copper tape method for my cutty sark (5mm wide x 15mm length) and ran the top two "runs" parallel to the water line- took something like 3000 tiles to do all the hull- it is the billings 1/75 version. Vowed i would never do it again, but here i am having just ordered 60 metres of tape for my Victory!

Keith

Greetings Keith- just completed secondary planking on my Cutty ( constructo 1:90- log in progress on this forum) Was going to leave the sapele  wood alone, but I had to do some major surgery ( AFTER the planking of course)on the stern to get the angles right I patched it up pretty well w new  . 5mm planks but the patch is still visible... So I'm considering painting it above the waterline and coppering below. Have any photos or other suggestions? The other alternatives are  1 . Live with the visible patch 2. Do a third planking. What do you think?

 

Thanks and fair winds.

[FarTraveler]

When I was working on a couple of ships a few years ago, (Cutty Sark and Charles W. Morgan) some of the references I used said that the Americans coppered from the keel up, whereas the British coppered from the waterline down. Don't think it makes a lot of difference in appearance, but if you're a purist. I also polishsed my copper after I'd finished and then coated it with a spray lacquer. Over the years they were on display, I never had any discoloration.

 

I'm a stained glass artist, so I've used a lot of copper foil in creating Tiffany style pieces. 

 

Don't buy your copper foil from ship modeler's websites, go to the stained glass ones. I've used www.Delphiglass.com for a lot of my supplies, but there are many and Delphi isn't the cheapest.. Copper foil comes in a variety of widths generally from 5/32 to 1/2 inch so you can match the width of the foil to the scale of the ship. It also comes with a variety of backing colors. I typically use black backing for my stained glass, but it also comes as copper-backed and silver backed. My recommendation is black, since, should a corner come up it would show black which would resemble the felting and tarring used under copper sheathing. The copper also comes in a variety of thicknesses. 1.0 and 1.5 mil are the most common. I prefer the thicker copper since I feel it's easier to detach from the backing paper. Copper sheets with black backing and adhesive are also available if you need odd shapes. 

 

Delphi--and all other stained glass vendors--also have some useful tools. THey have very nice burnishers, which I use to make sure the copper foil is firmly attached, but also use it on my masking tape to avoid paint leaks under the tape. They also have fids, which may be useful it moving small things into small places, or making sure that the copper fits tightly into a groove. 

 

Probably the most important thing for me is a foil dispenser. When foil starts to come off its spool, it makes a terrible mess of copper tape all over the floor that's creased and you can't do anything with it. Think 'toilet papering' a house. Obviously the dispenser shown at Delphi is made for a number of different sizes. In my stained glass studio, I'd occasionally have all six slots filled with different widths of copper foil. An alternative would be to one of those paper towel holders, but I'd put another layer of something down on top of my spool of foil to make sure it didn't fall apart. The other thing that can/should be done is to leave the spool in it's plastic wrap, and just pull out what you need.

 

Finally, if you need strong strips of something, look at 'strongline', which is a thin 20 mil x 1/8 strip of spring steel coated with copper. If I needed strong pintles and gudgeons ore chain plates, I'd think about using that product. 

 

I also use the ponce wheel method of making 'nails'. Just make sure to impress the paper side, so the point of the wheel doesn't go through the copper. 

 

After the ponce wheel, I detach a length of the backing and cut my pieces to the right length (5/8" for me) and apply them directly. I use narrow masking tape to keep my copper lines straight. 

 

Hope this is useful. I'll be starting a blog soon on my current project USF Essex (model shipways)

 

Dan BLumhagen

[Luis Felipe]

Hi, some years ago I start a scratch build 1/100 model of the tea clipper Sir Lancelot. At that time I do the coopering using copper strips glued with a neoprene based cement. Long and difficult. Finishing was perfect for some years but eventually the glue loss its grip and the strips start to loose up. Not all of them but enough to spoil the model. There is no repair, so need to do it all over again.

My question is, what glue or fixing will do the task? I have done some test using double face high strength tape, and again initially a perfect finish with strong hold, but under extreme conditions such as sun lite exposition make it fail. Thanks in advance for your advise. Saludos from Chile, LFG,  

[cadmando]

On 6/1/2014 at 9:30 AM, latestarter said:

Where is the best place to start coppering? Obviously on the hull but where stern, stem or centre. I started coppering Pickle in the centre and ran out with some very awkward cuts at stem and stern.

I would start at the bow and work my way back but that's just me. I'm working on the Cutty Sark - the cut is pretty steep in front so on the original ship all the water force would be at the front, it makes sense to me to start there. Wrap the edges of the keel to overlap the edge plates. Run the keel plates length ways - start from the stern so the lapped plates run forward - kinda like shingling roof peek. Hopefully with less awkward cuts. I would have responded sooner but this is my first time on the site. Hope that helps

[allanyed]

Hi Cad

Welcome to MSW.  It would very polite if you would post a small introduction in the new members forum with a little about yourself.  As this original post is 9 years old, it might not get many looks but your input is great, thanks for sharing!

Again, welcome aboard

Allan

[Roger Pellett]

Luis,  There is currently a thread on the Painting Topic here on MSW that also relates to this.  As you have discovered gluing wood to metal is difficult with uncertain long term results.  I find that sometimes even Epoxy does not bond well.  My idea posted on the Painting Topic is to simulate copper sheathing with paper, suitably colored.  This can be glued to the hull with ordinary PVA woodworking glue, provided you can get rid of the rubber cement residue.

 

Roger

[Wyattj]

Hi

wanted to know the actual dimensions of the copper plates on the Cutty Sark ? I am plating a 9 foot ship and wanted to scale it correctly. 
thank you for the help.

Wyatt

[allanyed]

Welcome to MSW Wyatt !!!!     It would be nice if you posted a little introduction about yourself in the new member forum.  

 

On 6/4/2023 at 6:58 AM, Wyattj said:

I am plating a 9 foot ship

Are you plating a model of the Cutty Sark, a clipper like the Cutty Sark or is it a warship?  Have you contacted RMG?  They are not always fast, but they do respond.  If it is for the Cutty Sark you might want to ask them if the size of the plating today is the same size as when you want her to appear.  The original plating was muntz metal.   The sheathing today is a different material so maybe the plate sizes are different as well.   For British naval vessels full plates were 15" wide by 48" long.  They overlapped top and sides 1.5" and were nailed with 0.25" nails spaced about 1.5" to 2.5" apart.  

Allan

Edited June 6, 2023 by allanyed

[bruce d]

What Allan said.  ⬆️

It's a big subject and easy to overcomplicate. Ask the people who look after Cutty Sark. 

Regards,

Bruce